abstraction

ab·strac·tion  (b-strkshn, b-)

n.

1.

a. The act of abstracting or the state of having been abstracted.

b. An abstract concept, idea, or term.

c. An abstract quality.

2. Preoccupation; absent-mindedness.

3. An abstract work of art.

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ab·straction·al, ab·stractive adj.

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abstraction

Noun

1. a general idea rather than a specific example: these absurd philosophical abstractions continued to bother him

2. the quality of being abstract or abstracted

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abstraction

the taking of another’s property for one’s own use.

See also: Property and Ownership

Thesaurus

Noun	1.	abstraction - a concept or idea not associated with any specific instance; "he loved her only in the abstract--not in person" abstract right - an abstract idea of that which is due to a person or governmental body by law or tradition or nature; "they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights"; "Certain rights can never be granted to the government but must be kept in the hands of the people"- Eleanor Roosevelt; "a right is not something that somebody gives you; it is something that nobody can take away" concept, conception, construct - an abstract or general idea inferred or derived from specific instances absolute - something that is conceived or that exists independently and not in relation to other things; something that does not depend on anything else and is beyond human control; something that is not relative; "no mortal being can influence the absolute" teacher - a personified abstraction that teaches; "books were his teachers"; "experience is a demanding teacher" thing - a special abstraction; "a thing of the spirit"; "things of the heart"
	2.	abstraction - the act of withdrawing or removing something remotion, removal - the act of removing; "he had surgery for the removal of a malignancy"
	3.	abstraction - the process of formulating general concepts by abstracting common properties of instances generalisation, generalization theorisation, theorization - the production or use of theories
	4.	abstraction - an abstract painting painting, picture - graphic art consisting of an artistic composition made by applying paints to a surface; "a small painting by Picasso"; "he bought the painting as an investment"; "his pictures hang in the Louvre"
	5.	abstraction - preoccupation with something to the exclusion of all else abstractedness preoccupancy, preoccupation, engrossment, absorption - the mental state of being preoccupied by something revery, reverie - an abstracted state of absorption
	6.	abstraction - a general concept formed by extracting common features from specific examples abstract entity entity - that which is perceived or known or inferred to have its own distinct existence (living or nonliving) psychological feature - a feature of the mental life of a living organism attribute - an abstraction belonging to or characteristic of an entity group, grouping - any number of entities (members) considered as a unit relation - an abstraction belonging to or characteristic of two entities or parts together communication - something that is communicated by or to or between people or groups quantity, measure, amount - how much there is or how many there are of something that you can quantify otherworld - an abstract spiritual world beyond earthly reality set - (mathematics) an abstract collection of numbers or symbols; "the set of prime numbers is infinite"

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abstraction

noun 1. concept, thought, idea, view, theory, impression, formula, notion, hypothesis, generalization, theorem, generality

noun 2. absent-mindedness, musing, preoccupation, daydreaming, vagueness, remoteness, absence, inattention, dreaminess, obliviousness, absence of mind, pensiveness, woolgathering, distractedness, bemusedness